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Justine van der Leun

Justine van der Leun is an independent journalist, a fellow at Type Media Center, and a PEN America Writing for Justice fellow.

‘No Choice But To Do It’

Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. Research for The Appeal shows that at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence.